The Forgotten Emerald
by Flownza
Summary: ...Flownza the Mongoose realizes she isn't just a regular mongoose...


Chapter one - The Spirit  
  
The heavily clothed creature walked down the street of SoaH City, ignoring the stares following it. It had obviously sleek silver fur and long hazel hair. Yellow eyes eerily shown out beneath the hat. It was raining heavily, and Flownza the Mongoose was traveling in the dark night. She had her claws in her Jacket pocket, yet she was wearing a dark blue tank top and brown jeans, despite the chilling weather.  
  
As she entered a narrow alley, she suddenly heard a splash behind her. Flownza whirled around to see who it was, yet no one was there. She heard another thick splash from behind her and an agonizing groan. Heart beating fast, she wondered where it came from. About three gunshots rang out into the air, and an ear splitting scream pierced the silent night. 'What the hell is going on!?' Flow thought to herself. Suddenly she felt an impulse to dodge right. But dodge from what? Without taking a second thought to it, she thrust herself at the alley wall to the right of her, and a cloaked figure whizzed past. It quickly jerked around, facing Flow and snarling. Its eyes glowed a faint white color and saliva dripped from its fangs. It leapt up and swiped at Flow, but she ducked just in time and then quickly went back up, her head bashing into the creature's stomach. It let out a grunt then quickly kicked its paws against the brick wall, sending itself jumping to the other side of the alley. 'It's an Echidna,' she realized with a jolt. What would an Echidna be doing out in the night?  
  
As it leaped at her again, she ran out back into the center of the alley. She heard it snarl, and then she turned around quickly to get a good look at it. Thunder flashed about the heavily raining night, lighting up the Echidna's features. It was dark gray, like her, but with shining white eyes. Its fangs were bared and it had no crest. Slowly Flownza backed up, then turned around again and set off at a sprint. Behind her, she heard the sharp wind through the air, meaning it was easily gliding after her.  
  
'Back off!' She thought furiously as she bent down to pick up a trashcan lid. As she heard the strange wind come closer, she whirled around, swinging the lid, and it collided with the Echidna's jaws. It flew backwards into the wall and lay in a crumpled heap. Turning around, she smiled triumphantly as she saw him. Just as she thought it had been knocked out, its eyes snapped open and it glared at her excitedly. Eyes widening, she realized that pausing was a big mistake. It jumped up at her and Flow met with it; she fell back into the wall, hitting her head against it and lay on the alley floor. It was on top, looking down at her with its white eyes.  
  
"Where is it?" It hissed. It was obviously a man, yet its voice was harsh, cold and hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a while. Glancing up at him, he didn't seem to be much older then herself. It looked like he was only seventeen or so... but she was only twelve. "Where is what!?" Flow sputtered back weakly as she felt warm blood creep down her forehead. "The emerald, you fool! The emerald!" He snarled, getting spit into Flow's already wet face. "I don't have any damn emeralds! I'm not trusted with them!" She added as an afterthought. "Don't you lie to me," He whispered lowly. "I know you have it!" He was practically a foot away from Flow's face as his hands clutched her jacket collar and his shoes dug into her ribs.  
  
Flow was confused. What emerald? She had never held an emerald in her entire life, not being trusted with them. People always thought she would run away with them... Why she was accused of doing this all the time, she didn't know. She had never stolen a jewel, never mind an emerald, in her entire life! "Get off me; I don't have any stupid emeralds! Go ahead and search me, I don't have anything!" She shouted at him angrily. "That's what I'll do..." He snickered and forced Flow to stand up against the wall. Her hair was now muddy and her leather jacket torn. His dirty white knuckles felt her jacket pockets, then her pants pockets. "Turn around!" He snarled. Flownza quickly stooped to his knees and issued a kick at his shins, tripping him. He shouted angrily and fell with a thud and a splash, giving Flow a chance to bolt. Summoning up her strength and trying to ignore the throbbing pain from her cracked head, she ran as fast as she could towards her apartment. She wasn't any hedgehog, but she ran as fast as one could. Luckily, she ran even faster. Due to her injuries though, she staggered and ran into dead ends about several times.  
  
*  
  
Flow screamed with frustration as she went into another dead end. She punched at the walls, ignoring the searing pain as each fist met its mark. Suddenly she heard a splash and then the piercing scream. 'Damnit, he's coming!' She quickly fell to her stomach and looked up. The echidna glided right above her and clutched at the walls. He looked around and cursed under his breath. "Stupid mongoose..." He climbed up the building wall and left Flow to herself... 'What the hell was that all about...?' She got up to her feet, blood dripping from her chin. She looked up quickly again to see if the strange Echidna was there, but luckily, he wasn't.  
  
*  
  
She lay against the Alley wall, now out of breath since she had been running for a while. Her vision was now hazy as she finally made it to her apartment. Her tank top and jeans were soaking wet, as was her hair; her hat was missing. 'Great, I'm a real mess...' She thought to herself grimly as she struggled to open her apartment door.  
  
"Number 12, Darigan road..." She muttered to herself, "Finally... home..." She staggered up the stairs to her bathroom and opened the door, tossing her jacket to the sofa on the living room right behind her before she ascended. Flow sat on the toilet, her head in her hands. Again, she wondered what the hell just happened to her. Who was that strange Echidna? What emerald was he speaking of? Had he mistaken her to be someone else? 'There aren't that many mongooses in SoaH City though... so he probably didn't mistake me...' She figured to herself as she wrapped the white bandages around her head. 'But what did he want? And why did he let out a scream before he attacked?' Questions were filling the silver mongoose's already full head as she strode to try and figure out what had just happened. She looked up at the clock. It read '3: 45 A.M'. 'Damn... it's already... Tuesday...' She trudged from the bathroom, her forehead now wrapped firmly with bandages. Flow tripped over a cereal box and fell onto the couch. Almost instantly, she shut her eyes and fell asleep, the dawn rising.  
  
*  
  
-In a cavern to the east of SoaH City...-  
  
"What!? You didn't get the emerald!?" The cold, harsh voice of an Echidna snarled, his voice echoing through the cavern. The gray echidna sneered at the black one. "So what? The mongoose claimed she didn't have it! After that she ran away! I couldn't find her. If you think -I- messed up, then I'd like to see -you- retrieve the emerald!" The black echidna snorted. "Echo, do you really think I'm that stupid? It's your job to retrieve emeralds, and it's just my job to make sure you have 'em." The gray echidna rolled his eyes... but the Black echidna didn't see anything, as Echo's eyes were totally white. "Well that's news to me. I thought you were smart enough to tell white from gray, but seemingly, you -aren't-!" He snarled back. The black echidna roared angrily and launched a punch at Echo's face, but he ducked and kicked at him, throwing his legs out. He fell with a grunt; Echo turned to walk away, but the black echidna grabbed Echo's leg, preventing him from leaving.  
  
"Do you want to get us into trouble? Stay here!" He hissed. Suddenly footsteps came. Echo kicked the black echidna away and fled. Behind him, he could hear a reptile's voice and the gruff voice of the black echidna. "Where is the emerald, Klitz?" "I, I don't have it; Echo couldn't fi-" "Stupid fool..." Echo muttered as he heard the black echidna scream in agony.  
  
*  
  
Flow woke up, her bandages taken off and a blanket over her. She blinked and stared around. 'Is anyone here...?' "Get back down, you're injured," Someone muttered from behind her. She whirled around and the knot in her chest loosened as she only saw her friend Klitch sitting on a wooden chair, staring out of the window. There was a silence as Flow settled back into the couch. "How'd you get like that?" Klitch asked gruffly, still staring out the window. "Accident," Flow retorted. She could tell that Klitch didn't believe her, but for some reason, Klitch was a quiet vixen that mostly liked to keep to herself. Flow wondered why this was, as foxes usually were cheerful and liked to talk. As she stared at the ceiling, other questions came to mind. "How'd you get here?" She asked curiously. "Keys." Klitch grunted back. Flow apologized. "Oh yeah, I forgot I gave 'em to you..." "Figures." Klitch replied, somewhat annoyed. There was another long and uncomfortable silence. "Well, I'm going. You don't seem to be in much of a bad condition." Klitch shrugged. "If you feel worse, just get to the hospital." She suggested. "I know that," Flow replied wearily. "Just checking," Klitch said, sliding the chair back under the table and heading towards the door. "You just moved here. I can't be too sure." Flow sighed and Klitch opened the door. "Seeya, Klitch. Thanks." Klitch nodded and shut the door quietly.  
  
When Klitch left, Flow got up, clutching the couch to help her. She grabbed a pole -she used this to practice self-defense- and used it to support her up the stairs into her own room. Her apartment had five rooms, which was fine with Flow, since she lived alone. There was her room, the living room, the bathroom, kitchen, and the Tech Room. This is where she placed her T.V., games, computer, and other 'tech' stuff. All the rooms were relatively small. As you enter the house, you enter the living room right away, and if you keep walking you end up in the kitchen. To the right of the living room there are stairs. When you stop at the top of the staircase, straight ahead is her room; to the right is the bathroom, and the left is the Tech room. Flow didn't get many visitors, but why would she? She had been living in SoaH City for only a month or so. As she entered her room, she flung herself onto her bed, still clutching the pole. Almost immediately, she fell asleep again.  
  
*  
  
-...At the Cavern...-  
  
"You will try again, correct?" softly asked the pure white fox in a dangerously silky voice. Echo shuddered slightly at the sound of his master's voice. "Of course I will," Echo sneered, annoyed, "This time without any flaws, Lord Drake." Echo looked down in the case Drake would get angry at the fact that he was making eye contact. "Good answer..." He heard Drake hiss venomously, "You had better... or else I will get your head!" Echo managed to not flinch at the end of his sentence, but risked a quick look at his Master. He was looking straight into Echo's own eyes, though Echo was sure he couldn't see it. Drake had completely a black eye, exactly the opposite from Echo. Lord Drake had only one eye; his other was patched up for reasons no one knew. "You are dismissed... and go fetch me that black echidna. Klitz, correct?" Echo nodded and hastily left, bowing. He slowly walked through the halls to summon Klitz to his death. Echo was an amazingly strong Echidna, but he knew his limits. Lord Drake was one of them.  
  
*  
  
"You sure it was a gray echidna?" The hedgehog asked doubtfully. "I'm telling you, Blaze!" Insisted Flow, pointing at her head. Of course, this effect only made her look even more psychotic. "It was real! I have scratches to prove it! And besides, even Klitch noticed something was wrong with me..." "There is something wrong with you, Flow. You aren't 'scratched'; you're injured. You need to get to the SoaH City hospital." It looked like Flow was going to cry with frustration. "I don't even know where it IS!" She screamed hysterically. Blaze's eyes widened and he back away slightly.  
  
"Okay... so we won't go. You say he was after an emerald, then?" Flow nodded and sighed. "Well... All the seven chaos emeralds are safe..." A distant look came over the hedgehog's face and Flow waved a paw in front of it. He seemed to be stuck in a deep stupor... "Blaze?" Flow asked softly, wondering if he was awake. Blaze swayed in his spot and blinked back to reality. "What was that all about?" Flow asked, bewildered. "Is there an eighth emerald...?" Blaze asked, a slight vagueness in his voice. "Yeah..." replied Flow slowly. She thought for a minute. Was there really one? She had only heard myths and legends... "But it was forgotten. Its location is unknown." She finished firmly.  
  
Someone knocked on Blaze's room door suddenly and Flow fell off her chair, landing with a loud, 'Ow!' Blaze looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Klitch is coming... you'd better go." A sly smile crept up Flow's young face. "Why, are you guys going out or something?" Blaze stared at Flow with his mouth hanging stupidly open. Outside, Klitch screamed and banged at the door. "WHAT!? BLAZE; UNLOCK THE DOOR! FLOWZA SUSTASHII, WAIT TIL I GET MY PAWS ON-" But by the time Blaze had unlocked the door, Flow had leapt out of Blaze's bedroom door, laughing. Blaze tried to blend in with his room as Klitch fumed. "Did she say what I think-?" The hedgehog squirmed uncomfortably and nodded, gulping. "She's lucky that she's the assassin and I'm not," Klitch growled, "Or I could've fed her to that cobra..." Blaze gulped.  
  
*  
  
'A forgotten emerald, eh? But there are only seven emeralds...' "Ma'am?" asked the clerk uncertainly. "Oh, yes." Flow muttered, embarrassed. "Fifteen rings, please." Flownza reached into her pocket and paid the chao. He handed her two bags and she muttered a 'thank you', heading on out of the store. Suddenly she collided into someone in a large coat. "Oh, excuse me..." Flow exclaimed, surprised as she dropped her bags. Her groceries rolled out as well as the other person's belongings. A black emerald rolled out of the person's reach and with her natural reflexes, immediately picked it up to give it back. When she realized what it was, she gasped sharply, and all in one swift casual movement slipped it into her pocket. Fortunately, the golden furred hedgehog didn't notice. As she looked up, she saw a handsome face, peering apologetically into hers. "Eh heh, sorry," He murmured, obviously searching for the emerald. "Wasn't watching where I was going..." Flow nodded and muttered, "Wasn't your fault," then gathered her things, making a hasty escape. She heard the hedgehog suddenly realize what happened and call after her sharply, and the mongoose darted away.  
  
*  
  
'What is this?' She asked herself as she made it to her house again. 'An emerald? A black one?' Flow set it on the desk in front of her and observed it. 'It probably isn't a chaos emerald though... what would a yellow furred hedgy be doing with it?' Carefully, she took out one of her daggers. She poked and prodded the emerald, but nothing happened. 'I don't know anyone who knows anything about emeralds...' but then her face lit up. 'Mini! He'll know; he's dealt with stuff like this before...' She pulled her jacket back on and slipped the emerald inside.  
  
*  
  
Knock. Knock. "Yeah? Who is it?" Rang out a male voice from behind the door. It was slightly muffled, so Flow didn't recognize who it was at first. "S'Flow, Mini." She replied back. The door swung open and a green hedgy appeared from the door. He had several purple streaks across his quills and he wore sunglasses. Flow greeted him with a grin as he invited her in. "So what's up, Jess?" Flow cringed at the name. "...I told you to stop calling me that," Flow hissed irritably, "It's annoying." The hedgy grinned apologetically. "Well sorry -the name's stuck." Flow scowled.  
  
*  
  
Flow looked around as Minimaniac started to clean things up a bit. "Is anyone besides you here?" Mini paused for a while and looked at Flow oddly. "Why, something wrong?" Flow shook her head. "Nothing," She answered, "I just felt like asking. Is there anyone here?" She repeated. Mini shook his head slightly and straightened. "You can sit down, you know. In case you're blind or something, there's a couch right behind you." Flow rolled her eyes and muttered, "I'm not blind," but Mini was in the kitchen.  
  
Flow slowly took off her coat and hung it on the rack. Then she forgot that she had come here to show the emerald to Mini in the first place. She reached out to grab the emerald, but then Mini had entered the kitchen. "What's that?" He exclaimed. Flow had not heard him approach and jumped, startled. This caused her to let the emerald slip from her hands. "No, catch it!" Mini shouted. Flow quickly stooped down to pick up the emerald but it had hit the floor. There was a bright flash as the emerald shattered. Some of the emerald shards flew out to do some damage to Mini's home. When she turned to look away from the light, Mini was on the floor. It seemed some of the shards had torn across his face. He was still.  
  
Suddenly the bright light vanished and the house swam in darkness. 'What's going on?' Flow looked around wildly. She was able to see clearly through the darkness, being the nocturnal type person she was. Flow looked up out of the window. Even outside was dark. Dark clouds had rolled in and blocked the sun. 'Oh no,' Flow thought with a groan. 'What have I done?' She crawled toward Mini, avoiding the shards that were on the floor. Fighting back the urge to scream, she felt his neck for a pulse. There was one, but it was very faint.  
  
Then an odd sound came to Flow's sensitive ears. 'Fire?' She whirled around and gasped at what she saw in front of her. There was a bright red flame, and swamped in the middle of it was a brightly furred mongoose. His eyes were a heavy purple and his hair was thrown back in a ponytail. His hair was a dark silver color. His fur was white, but he still had a morose feeling about him. All he did was give a piercing glare in Flow's direction. Flow's eyes widened and her heart beat fast, but she didn't know why. Struggling not to panic, she attempted to heave Mini's body away from the mongoose. After that was done, she stood up and wiped sweat from her forehead. She gasped again. Now the whole house was engulfed in dark red flames.  
  
"What're you doing!?" She snarled angrily. Flownza wouldn't want Mini's house to burn down! But still, the male mongoose just stared at her. It seemed he was half floating. His face was covered in dark shadows. "Crest." He hissed hoarsely. Flow shook her head vigorously. "I don't have a stupid crest! I don't have a stupid emerald! I don't have anything!" ...Even as she spoke with such anger, the mongoose did not flinch or retaliate. He just stared at her. "Get out," She cried. "Just get out!" The mongoose gave a shuddering sigh and stood up. As he did this, the flames leaped higher and Flow stumbled backwards. "You have an amulet. Do you not remember?"  
  
Flownza blinked and looked down at her chest. Her water amulet was glowing brightly... Flow growled and thrust out her claws. Several jets of water issued out of nowhere and headed straight for the mongoose. As each fell over him, the jets of water just dispersed. Her eyes widened in shock. The mongoose grinned. "It seems you do not have enough power yet..." Flownza cringed slightly. "How can you blame me? I just received this thing!" The mongoose sighed. "Flownza Sustashii..." Flow shuddered involuntarily, "You need to learn to keep your temper..." Flow opened her mouth to retaliate, but he interrupted again. "For one day... it might cost you your life." At this Flownza kept her muzzle shut tight. The mongoose lifted a claw. It seemed he was holding something.  
  
"Wh-Who are you?" Flow stammered. "I am naught but a spirit," He replied wistfully. "And now, I pass my powers on to you..." Flow blinked. "P-powers? I'm just a normal mongoose, how can I possibly accept any po-" At this the mongoose roared. "Keep your tongue!" Flow backed up and tripped over one of Mini's Gamecube controllers. "How do you think a normal twelve year old mongoose can be an assassin? Don't you think that that makes you special in any way? How can a normal twelve year old mongoose wield a water amulet?"  
  
As he kept speaking, Flow couldn't help but notice that his voice was getting louder with each word. This mongoose was distinctly familiar, but even as she was racking through her brain right then, she couldn't quite put where she knew him... so she just took for his word, that he was a spirit. Since the spirit paused, Flow assumed she could speak once more. "I- I'm guessing, then, that I'm not a normal mongoose." The spirit eyed her oddly, but nodded and allowed her to keep speaking. "Uh... and, um, I have a... great destiny ahead of me?" Flownza only guessed this because she played a lot of games. This was what usually happened to the characters. The spirit gave a raspy laugh. "I see you have been playing to many RPG's, Flownza," The spirit said, an odd gleam in his eyes. "For you seem to be very... experienced at this kind of thing." He raised another claw and pointed it at Minimaniac. There was a bright green flash, but Flownza knew to keep her mouth shut then. Mini was on his feet, a hand over his face.  
  
"Where... what... Jesse?" Mini gasped as he saw what was in front of him. "Jesse, who's this!? Get behind me!" Flow tried to calm him down. "No, no Mini it's okay, really, don't panic!" Mini stared at her. "Don't panic? You're asking me not to panic when my house is on fire and it's total darkness outside!?" Flownza gave him an innocent look. "C'mon, please big bro? All this'll sort out when-" "Big Bro!?" The spirit roared savagely. "This pathetic hedgehog is your brother?"  
  
Flownza glared at him and held Mini back while he tried to get to the mongoose. "Yes, he is! And for one, he's not pathetic! He's been through more then you can count; even more then me!" The mongoose quieted and stared at Flownza in the eyes while her angry gaze faltered. As he started to advance, Mini gently pushed Flow aside and glared at the spirit mongoose. "Yes, I am her brother! If you've got a problem with her, then you have to deal with me, first!" Mini lifted an arm and an energy ball started to form, but the spirit raised a claw and the energy ball dispersed. "Fine. If you are her brother, then do you promise to protect her at all times?"  
  
Flownza shoved Mini back behind her. He glared at her. "What is this, a wedding? Come on, just tell me what you came for and leave! "The mongoose shook his head. "Maybe I should make this 'Mini' unconscious again..." Flow shouted back at the mongoose. "You'll have to get through me, first!" The spirit eyed her passively. "That can be arranged." Quickly he lifted up a claw and shot a beam at Flow. Her eyes widened in shock and she fell forward. "What have you done to her?" Mini cried angrily. The mongoose smiled slightly. "I just thought we might have an, ah, more peaceful talk without her temper. And hold your tongue if you want to end up like miss shout out." Mini clenched his fists and glared at the mongoose angrily, but shut his mouth. "You're her... brother, then...?" Mini nodded and opened his mouth, but the Spirit waved a claw. He shut it again. "Are you blood siblings?" At the word blood, the flames leaped up. Mini shook his head and opened his mouth again. The mongoose glared at him. Mini shut his mouth, giving the mongoose a withering stare. "Good. ...Well, Miss Sustashii has... well, she needs to perform a... quiet long and grueling task. Promise me, Minimaniac Hayasa that you will not accompany her, or help her, on any of her problems. ...At least until she finally realizes what she is." Mini's eyes widened and he stepped forward.  
  
"I can't possibly do that! What kind of brother would I be? And what's that supposed to mean, 'At least until she finally realizes what she is'? She's just a normal twelve-year-old mongoose! You can't possibly expect her to bear all this herself." The spirit sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Minimaniac. Flownza told me that you had been through more then her. Surely you know she isn't really a normal mongoose? Probably not even a mongoose at -all-?" Mini's eyes widened and he gulped. He stepped forward and started to yell at the mongoose. "Jesse is just a regular mongoose!" The mongoose's eyes blazed. "And just who do you think you are, calling Flownza 'Jesse'?" He spat Jesse with such contempt that Mini cringed. "Who says I can't call her that, you jerk?" That enraged the spirit. "I'M WARNING YOU!" The mongoose snarled. Mini lifted his chin and spat at the Mongoose's feet. Grinning roguishly, he looked up at the Mongoose. The mongoose's eyes were glowing bright purple and his hair was now jet black. His fur was a bright white... he looked younger. "Hedgehog... you have proven yourself to be too... hot-headed. Ever watch Dragon Ball Z?" Mini fell, startled at the sudden change of topic. The newly formed mongoose gave out a hearty laugh.  
  
"Heh heh... Sorry. I see you've already met Rillflag. He gets... angry a lot. Sorry I couldn't come before him," He laughed again. "Who are you?" Mini demanded, getting back up and dusting off his pants. "Who am I? Does that matter?" Mini shifted uncomfortably and muttered, "I guess not..." The new spirit mongoose grinned cheekily at Mini. "Don't be so uptight," Mini opened his mouth to retaliate, but the spirit interrupted, "Anyway, on with DBZ. You know that character? What's his name... the one who's always gruff and all," Mini muttered, "Vegeta," The mongoose laughed. "That's right! I'm Zann. And I'm a spirit. I'll explain basically everything to you. Anyway... Flow's gonna hafta go on this quest to find the shards," He waved a claw clad in heavy armor. Immediately, all the shards glow a bright purple and disappear. "Then after that, she has to find what she loves most." Mini blinked. "What's that?" Zann shook his head. "Don't you know already? She -is- your sister after all." Mini shook his head. "No. She never mentioned anything about what she liked." Zann frowned. "But can't you tell?" Mini shook his head impatiently. "No, I can't! Just tell me." He huffed. Zann shrugged. "Fine," He continued, "What she loves most is Death." 


End file.
